Welcome back to Shuffle! I turn on my Pandora account and whatever first five songs play, those are the ones I discuss today. Share with me your first five songs on shuffle or tell me about memories attached to the songs I talk about today.
Monday, January 18, 2021, Martin Luther King Jr. Day at 7:30pm:
The story behind my Pandora playing this song and band. Not so much the song but the band, Washed Out. I heard of them like many probably have through the show Portlandia. I love that show so much and the theme song was by this band and the title song was “Feel It All Around” which is an eclectic, lovely piece of music which was suppose to encapsulate Portland, Oregon’s “keep it weird” vibe. I have listened to a few of this band’s songs since that show and consistently you aren’t quite sure what they are saying unless you look up the lyrics. They are the type of band you would have on if you wanted to completely relax. Or if you are having a romantic dinner and it’s on in the background. And yes, it could even be used for background sex music (except for the song from Portlandia cause then it would just make you think of that show and you wouldn’t want that to happen.) I urge you to give them a try even you are looking for good, mellow music in your playlist. Then stream some episodes of Portlandia! Carrie and Fred are two of the most wonderful, whimsical comedy writers out there.
#portlandia #washedout #pandora #carriebrownstein #fredarmisen
Next Song:
Otis Redding “Chained and Bound”. I am not familiar with this particular song of Otis’. But here is the story of how I became aware of Otis Redding. Of course I knew the song “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay” growing up. It is a famous song and was played on the oldies channel my best friend’s mom would listen to. But how I really came to love Otis was from the movie Pretty in Pink. There is the scene where Jon Cryer’s character Duckie lip syncs to Otis’ “Try a Little Tenderness”. He does a terrific job trying to woo Molly Ringwald through the words of Otis. He not only lip syncs it but also uses the entire record store as his stage. I highly suggest using this method when trying to impress someone you are interested in. (See, I told you there would be tangents!)
Now getting back to this particular song “Chained and Bound” which was written by Otis himself. Let me hit play and listen. This is definitely classic Otis. Very soulful and yearning. This song is about being glad he is “Chained and Bound” to his woman’s love. He doesn’t want to go anywhere else. So he takes a phrase that would normally seem negative and turns it into something beautiful. Otis is definitely one of a kind. He has done a lot of wonderful covers too. Hitting next on any Otis song should be outlawed!
#OtisRedding #ChainedandBound #PrettyInPink #Duckie #MollyRingwald #JonCryer #lipsyncs
Next song: (Like I said, shuffle mode on my Pandora is all over the place!)
Once again, not familiar with this song (yet!) but love AC/DC. I grew up in central Ohio and you couldn’t turn on a rock station without hearing AC/DC. Growing up with MTV, “Shook Me All Night Long” played constantly. I know a lot of AC/DC from the Back in Black album all the way through the 80’s and early 90’s. I also love that Stephen King is a big AC/DC fan and uses them in his books and films from time to time. He let them do the entire soundtrack to his film Maximum Overdrive which is pretty kick ass!
Now let me listen to this song “Realize”. So I’m finding out this was released in 2020 and these guys are still sounding great! This song was written by Angus Young and Malcolm Young. Malcolm died in 2017 so they released songs that were from their vault but never previously released. The entire album is dedicated to Malcolm. This song has all the great elements that make AC/DC still one of the best rock bands ever!
#ACDC #BackInBlack #StephenKing #MaximumOverdrive #Realize #AngusYoung #MalcolmYoung #rockmusic #rock #heavymetal
Next song:
“All the Small Things” by Blink-182. They were everywhere in the 90’s and fun for the most part. I would put them in the Pop Punk genre along with Green Day. This is one of those bop my head type songs. There are other blink songs that I enjoy more than this one like “What’s My Age Again” but this will do for now. I don’t have a story that I can think of because of this song or band. They were just a part of the musical landscape of the 90’s. But I will say this about the 90’s. There was a time when I looked back on the 90’s as not that great of a time period of music. But then when I began to think about it, the 90’s let every genre have its time in the sun. From rock and grunge, to pop princesses and boy bands, to alternative sounds, country and ska even! It was a really eclectic decade of music to which I can say I am glad to look back on it fondly now!
#AlltheSmallThings #blink182 #PopPunk #greenday
Next song: (Speaking of the 90’s)
“You Oughta Know” by Alanis Morissette. Quite the woman’s anthem of the 90’s. I will always love Alanis, this song and album Jagged Little Pill. It was a monster hit as we all know now. With this song being the first single, how could it not be! And of course talking about going down on you in a theater! I listened to this album extensively when it came out. Now there are some songs that I like better than others (“Ironic” got a little tiresome lol). But overall this album is really great. And it has a wonderful “secret song” called “Your House” which is really great too. There are other Alanis songs I hope to talk about in the future that came after this album that are real gems as well.
#YouOughtaKnow #AlanisMorissette #jaggedlittlepill
Maybe five songs a blog is a good place to stop. If you like what you have heard and read, let me know on my contact page of this website. Give me some of your favorites too. Or let me know the first five songs that come up on your playlist! Until next time, keep pushing play!